Dam decisions are best left to Corps

I can understand the frustration of residents who have to evacuate ahead of the floodwater. But their criticism of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision not to open up the floodgates until now is not too well thought out.

The residents say the Corps knew ahead of time that this was coming and that they should have released the water a while ago.

Actually the Corps didn't know for certain any more than the rest of us. In the last three rounds of storms that went by Iowa City, could you have predicted the exact track of those storms?

No, you couldn't.

Had the storms gone to the south of the dam, it would not have been necessary to have released the water.

True, the water still would have risen to near the top of the spillway but not have gone over. Had the Corps released the water anyway, you would still have criticized them for doing so.

So, no matter what the Corps does, you're still going to grumble.

This is why the decision of how much water should be released from the dam is best left to the Corps to decide - instead of by popular vote.

You also have to keep in mind that it's not just Iowa City the Corps has to consider.

The Cedar River, which flows through Waterloo and Cedar Rapids, has no dam to regulate its waters. The Cedar River empties into the Iowa River down by Columbus Junction. So when high waters come downstream from both rivers, poor residents of that town are at the mercy of the floods. So the Corps can ease the pain by slowing down the Iowa River.

Of course when they do that, then the residents of the Amana Colonies begin to complain about not releasing the water because the lake is backing up into their communities.

So no matter what the Corps does, someone's going to complain.

James Surratt

Iowa City

ADVERTISEMENT

Most Popular

Most Commented

More Headlines

Most Viewed

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Dam decisions are best left to Corps

I can understand the frustration of residents who have to evacuate ahead of the floodwater. But their criticism of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision not to open up the floodgates until now is